Bono Pushes for Debt Relief

Bono was in Washington, DC late last week appealing to
the US government to relieve the amount of debt owed by impoverished nations
to fat cats like the US. The U2 singer, a key member of the
Jubilee 2000 campaign, which is championing this cause, was accompanied
by several Congressmen, both Democrat and Republican. While Bono said he was encouraged by the support he's received,
he not celebrating yet - "It's hard to get people in this town to agree on anything...until I see
the $435 million, I'm going to be a bit skeptical."

The Clinton administration has requested that Congress authorize the payment
of $435 million over two years to pay the US share of the Heavily Indebted
Poor Countries Initiative, which aims to ease crippling dept burdens of some of the
most impoverished nations. Congress, however, has not approved payment of the full amount.
Instead, they have proposed several different foreign aid bills offering relief of anywhere
from $75-$225 million. Acknowledging the irony of the situation, Bono quipped, "It's madness that a pop star has to be standing here. Somebody else should be doing this, somebody else more qualified." To learn more about this cause, go to www.Jubilee2000.com.